Putt-Putt
Putt-Putt is a purple convertible and the main protagonist in the Putt-Putt series. He is always seen with his best friend and pet, Pep, a small brown dog which Putt-Putt rescues from a cave in his first game, Putt-Putt Joins the Parade. The character was created by Shelley Day as a new bedtime story for her son Travis. Soon after, Putt-Putt became the first of the many characters to be created at Humongous Entertainment, then a new company. Since 1992, Putt-Putt has starred in a total of thirteen games, seven of which are adventure games. He also starred in two arcade games and four activity games. Putt-Putt may have partially been inspired by a UK TV show titled "Brum," which was produced by Ragdoll Productions. History Early Life The first story with Putt-Putt took place not in a computer, but beside a child's bed. Putt-Putt's creator, Shelley Day, told Putt-Putt's first adventure to her then-three-year-old son Travis as a bedtime story in 1990. In the story, Putt-Putt saved a cat who had gotten stuck in a tree. Finding a Pet The earliest of Putt-Putt's digital adventures began on the morning of the annual Cartown Pet Parade. When Putt-Putt wants to enter the parade, he finds that he needs a car wash, a balloon and a pet. In his search for a puppy, Putt-Putt discovers a dark cave on the edge of Cartown. Inside is a lost puppy. Putt-Putt adopts him and names him Pep. After getting all the necessaries required, Putt-Putt and Pep then ride at the front of the Cartown Pet Parade. A Trip to the Moon Putt-Putt visits the Fireworks Factory to visit Mr. Firebird. After a butterfly lands on a lever and Pep tries to stop it, Mr. Firebird's experiment is activated, causing a rocket to be ignited and sending Putt-Putt and Pep to the moon. Putt-Putt then meets Rover, a lunar vehicle, and the two cars search for all the missing parts of broken rocket to get back to Earth. Saving The Zoo Putt-Putt delivers Zoo Chow to Outback Al. He said that six baby animals are missing, so Putt-Putt has to find them before the zoo opens. Traveling Through Time Putt-Putt and Pep are going to visit Mr. Firebird. So Putt-Putt grabs his school supplies (a lunch box, a calculator, and his history report) and a coin and goes to the old fireworks factory. Mr. Firebird is getting ready to start his time portal and it costs a coin. Putt-Putt gives it to him and he starts it. The time portal malfunctions and Putt-Putt loses his school supplies and Pep due to them being pulled in. He travels through time to find and save his things before school starts. Entering the Race Putt-Putt and Pep receive a letter from Redline Rick inviting him to enter Cartown 500. Saving the Circus Putt-Putt enters to Cartown Circus, helps the circus friends and watches some stuff at the end. Happy Birthday Pep! Putt-Putt finds birthday decorations (including a cake) to get Pep's birthday party ready. Appearance Putt-Putt is a small purple convertible featuring two fins. His eyes are located where the headlights would be and his mouth is found above the front bumper. A pair of eyebrows float above his eyes giving him more character. Putt-Putt uses his retractable antenna to interact with objects around him. Although his normal color is purple, Putt-Putt's color can be changed in many of the games with the exception of Pep's Birthday Surprise in which he instantly turns back to purple afterwards. Dashboard Putt-Putt's dashboard has maintained a similar look throughout the course of the series. The original style, seen in Putt-Putt Joins the Parade and Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon, features a gas gauge, speedometer, steering wheel with horn, radio and a glove compartment. In his first game, Putt-Putt's gas gauge would drain as time progressed. He had the option of refilling it at the Cartown Gas and Tires. The speedometer is labeled in increments of five from five to thirty-five, thirty-five being Putt-Putt's top speed. The steering wheel is red and seemingly floats in front of the dashboard. In its center rests a yellow smiley which acts as Putt-Putt's horn. When used, the horn makes a goofy face while the horn blares. The radio features a older style tuner and is always tuned to the same station. The glove compartment is where Putt-Putt keeps the items he finds on his adventures. It is divided into two sections by a single shelf that rests in the middle. During times when Putt-Putt is asked a yes or no question, the shelf rotates forward to reveal the yes or no options. Three years after his debut, Putt-Putt's dashboard was slightly redesigned to keep up with the higher standard of graphical quality. Though the dashboard maintains it's original look, some small changes were made for Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo. The gas gauge no longer decreases as the game progresses. The radio now has a digital interface and is tuned to 97.3, presumably the Cartown radio station. The glove compartment also features a minor change as the shelf has been removed. Of all the minor changes, one object has been added. There is a key in the ignition found on the left of the dashboard under the gas gauge. The key is used to quit the game. This version of the dashboard is also used in Putt-Putt Travels Through Time. For Putt-Putt Enters the Race, the dashboard was changed yet again, although only a very minor change. The key was been changed from a means of quitting to a menu. When pressed, the sun visor flips down from the upper-left corner of the screen. A notepad represents the "Save" option, a road map represents the "Load" option, and a garage door opener represents the "Quit" option. However, when Putt-Putt uses High-Powered High-Octane Gasoline, his top speed is doubled from 35 MPH to 70 MPH, albeit for a brief period of time. This version of the dashboard is also used in Putt-Putt Joins the Circus. Also in the original games if Putt-Putt's colors was changed the dashboard still stayed purple, Putt-Putt Enters the Race makes the glove compartment close and the dashboard get colored the same as Putt-Putt be it the Cartown Color in Putt-Putt Enters the Race or Baby Jambo in Putt-Putt Joins the Circus. In Putt-Putt's final/latest game, the dashboard was updated to compensate for the improved visual quality of the game. It has a more defined, shaded look. Aside from some color adjustments, only one new object was added. A minor change is that the radio station number (97.3) is no longer shown in the radio's screen due to its background color being too bright. An options menu appears in the upper left corner of the screen attached to the sun visor. Personality Putt-Putt has the personality of a young boy. He is adventurous and always willing to try new things. His love of exploration has sent him into dark caves, the moon and even through time. His love for others is evident by the way he helps those in need. In fact most of the games in the Putt-Putt series revolve around helping others with small and large tasks. Putt-Putt is always friendly and shows his compassion to those feeling low. He cheers up many of the missing zoo animals while finding a way to rescue them in Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo. Putt-Putt is conscious of the environment in Putt-Putt and Pep's Dog on a Stick. The adventure starts with he and Pep driving to junk yard on recycling day. Driver's License In Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo, ICanDrive=71595 can be added to the hegames.ini (or scummvm.ini) to show Putt-Putt's driver's license near the end of the credits. The license reveals information about Putt-Putt such as his birthdate, his height, and his weight. It reveals that Putt-Putt is an engine donor. It also shows his signature, despite missing the dash in his name. Fun Facts *In the opening of Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds, a fish named Jason is offered a flower by Freddi. Due to his appearance and identical voice actor, he could be considered the fish version of Putt-Putt. *Did you know? Many Putt-Putt easter eggs exist in other Humongous games, from a bubble that morphs into him in Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds to a huge poster in Freddi Fish 3. *Some Junior Field Trips, Freddi Fish and Fatty Bear easter eggs can be found in Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo when clicking on the Cartown Zoo billboard. * Nancy Cartwright, who voiced Putt-Putt from 1998-2000 is perhaps best known for being one of the main cast members on the Fox Network's long running animated sitcom, The Simpsons. * Chika Sakamoto, who voiced Putt-Putt from 1992-present is the Japanese seiyuu has shares by Mei Kusakabe from My Neighbor Totoro and Cure Flower Heartcatch Precure and many more. Gallery Trivia * Despite being built in 1992 he appears to be based on a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado convertible. Category:Putt-Putt characters Category:Cars Category:Males Category:Heroes Category:Transportation Category:Dancers Category:Silly characters Category:Singing characters